


The Last Thing You Want

by prepare4trouble



Series: Little By Little [6]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Awkward Space-Dad Kanan, Gen, Incorrect Conclusions, The Talk, Vague mentions of Kanan's past exploits, but not THAT one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 19:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9339833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prepare4trouble/pseuds/prepare4trouble
Summary: Kanan knows there's something bothering Ezra, he just isn't quite sure what it is.  He thinks he might have it figured out.  He's wrong.Part of Little By Little, but set before the bulk of the story.  Can be read as a stand-alone.





	

Ezra sensed Kanan’s approach before he actually saw him. That was useful, something to build on for the future. He squinted as he watched the hazy silhouette approach, the sun at Kanan’s back making the world far too bright.

He sighed. It wasn’t like he got a lot of downtime, and that was fine, they were fighting a rebellion after all, trying to free the galaxy from tyranny and all that. He couldn’t exactly start demanding a day off. But it was nice to be able to grab a few minutes to himself, and here was Kanan heading directly for him, raising a hand in greeting.

There had been no discussion of any upcoming missions that they were to be a part of. Kanan was going to want to do training. He _hoped_ Kanan was going to want to do training, because the other stuff, the strange questions and weird behavior, was getting to be too much.

He raised his own hand, mirroring Kanan’s actions, then clenched it into a fist and allowed it to drop back to his side as he realized the futility of that particular gesture. Or was it? He wasn’t sure exactly what Kanan could and could not perceive through the Force. Ezra’s own ability to sense the world in that way was very limited, but Kanan had the benefit of much deeper training, and the fact that he had no other choice, both working in his favor.

Kanan slowed as he approached. Ezra raised his hand again, this time to shield his eyes against the glare of the sun. He came to a stop just in front of him, and smiled. “Enjoying the downtime?” Kanan asked.

Ezra glanced from left to right, searching for an excuse to leave, but he was unable to come up with any conceivable thing that he might be doing that couldn’t wait. Instead he shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “It’s good to grab a few minutes to myself. But if you want to do some training instead, that’s fine.”

Kanan shook his head. “No, I think we did enough this morning; actually, I wanted to talk to…”

“Are you sure?” Ezra interrupted. “You said I needed to work on my form, what better time?”

Kanan folded his arms. Behind the mask, Ezra thought he was probably giving him that fake-confused, slightly dubious expression that he reserved for those times when he knew that somebody was trying to manipulate him. With the mask in place, all Ezra saw was a tightening of his lips. “Tomorrow would be fine,” he said. “You don’t want to overdo it.” He unfolded his arms, folded them again, and then sighed. “I wanted to talk to you about…” a pause. “About relationships.”

Ezra looked quickly around him again, hoping that a distraction might suddenly have revealed itself, maybe something had blown up just beyond the edge of his vision and he hadn’t noticed. Or maybe the Empire had found the base and decided to attack. The scene was disappointingly serene. “Relationships?” he repeated. “Why?”

“Because you’re seventeen!” Kanan said, as though that explained everything. “Look, you must have had the talk…” He hesitated. “You’ve had the talk, right? I mean, you were probably too young when your parents… Someone's told you about…”

Ezra felt the heat rush to his face. “Yeah, I’m good. You don’t have to… Please don’t…”

Sometimes, Ezra picked up on emotions communicated through the Force. It didn’t happen all the time, only when they were particularly strong or forceful, but Kanan’s relief washed over him. Until it was replaced by a vague sense of panic.

“Good,” Kanan told him. “But that’s just the physical. There’s more to it than that. You know that too, right?”

Ezra turned away and fought the urge to hide his head in his hands. Kanan needed to stop this. Right now. Before the heat of Ezra’s embarrassment caused him to spontaneously combust. He was dangerously close to several starships, if that happened he didn’t want to take the whole base with him.

“Right?” Kanan repeated.

Ezra licked his lips. “Can we do this another time?” he asked. Preferably never, or at the very least, years down the line.

“Have you… do you have anybody that you…” Kanan stopped. He appeared to be having as much trouble with this conversation as Ezra was at being subjected to it, and he didn’t understand why Kanan didn’t just _give up_. “I’m not asking if you’ve… you know. But if there’s anybody you think you might like, in that way…”

“Not right now,” Ezra said through gritted teeth. Not that he was going to talk about it if there was. Which, in actual fact, yes. There were several someones. As Kanan had pointed out earlier, he _was_ seventeen.

Kanan nodded. Ezra looked closely, and saw that Kanan’s fingertips were tapping rhythmically on his forearms as he held his arms tightly folded. Everything about his posture screamed tension. “Protection,” Kanan said. “For when you do. It’s not… we do have it. In the medbay. I’ve checked. Not for me, but I’ve checked. Use it. You want to trust me on this, you do not want to come down with a case of… anyway. Speak to the droid before you do anything.”

Ezra swiped at his brow with the back of his hand, and then down his cheeks. His skin felt hot to the touch. He was almost, _almost_ , glad that Kanan couldn’t see the bright red of his embarrassment. “Fine, okay,” he muttered, almost under his breath. 

“Okay?” Kanan repeated, apparently satisfied.

Ezra nodded emphatically. To prevent another conversation like this one, he would agree to anything. “Yes,” he promised.

“Good. But remember there’s more to it than that,” Kanan told him. “You need to be careful in that way, but you need to make sure you’re both on the same page. Casual is fine. Casual is good. But remember, the other person might think there’s something else going on. There was this one girl on this backwater planet…” he tailed off, shook his head. “Let’s just say, if the other person has a family, make sure they’re not the violent types. The _last_ thing you want is to be chased out of the house in just your underwear.”

Ezra felt his eyes widen. He needed more information there. This conversation had to stop immediately, but he needed to know what Kanan had done, and what had happened as a result. Predictably, just as it had gotten interesting, Kanan had stopped.

“Not that that ever happened to me,” Kanan added swiftly. “Just, you know, for example.”

“Right,” Ezra said. “For example.”

“Med droid,” Kanan said. “Before anything. He’ll try to give you an eye test too, it’s a thing he does. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take long. Um… I’m going to…” He pointed in the vague direction of the commissary, or perhaps the base’s main holo-table, Ezra wasn’t sure. He didn’t think Kanan was sure either. Kanan started to walk away, then turned back to face him. “One more thing,” he said. “If you meet someone and it’s real, if you’re sure, and so are they… don’t hesitate. Don’t end up dodging the issue. Talk to them, be honest, and if they feel the same way, don’t let the rules of the Jedi Order hold you back.”

Ezra frowned. “Another ‘for example’?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kanan told him, then turned and made a swift retreat, leaving Ezra staring after him.


End file.
